The Cavalier power rack & pinion (or equivalent) is the only center-take-off unit that I read about that is an OEM unit.
Unfortunately this R&P only has a total travel of 6 inches and I need 7 inches.
Does anyone, who knows the construction of these R&P, know if it would be possible to modify this R&P unit for a longer travel?
Thanks

There is no way to modify the rack for more travel, it is what it is and that's it. You'd have to move the tie rod ball joint holes in the steering arms in, as much as there is enough material on the casting, by offset-boring the hole and pressing/welding in a sleeve w/ tapered hole, also offset inward (meaning closer to the spindle), to get effectively faster steering, and reduce the requirement for travel at the rack.

It's possible some of the kits use a larger rack with an attached bracket that puts the inner tie rods at the center or in any position along it. Anybody who made those setups could surely do a custom based on one of their normal units, and put the holes where you need them.

My car is rear steer and I need about 7 inches of total travel on a rack & pinion.
As sbutler pointed out the Cavalier center take off (cto) and is rear steer, but they only has about 6 inches of travel so that would increase my turn radius.
He pointed out the Intrepid has 7" travel and is cto, but front steer so no dice.
I'm looking at 05 & newer Dodge Durango, which is rear steer. It is not cto but I could attach a bracket from end to end as kso mentioned.
I'll update with Durango travels when I acquire them.
Thanks

Here's an update on what I found about 04-09 Dodge Durangos.
These rack and pinions are rear steer and have an overall travel of 6.9 inches which will result in only a minor increase in turn radius for my car.

1) Does anyone have pictures and material thickness of a brackets they have seen used to bridge the end tie rods attach points and allow center take off?

For anyone following this thread here's some more info I found.
The 04-09 Durango is rear steer r&p with 6.9" travel.
The steer column is approximatly positioned 13.5" from the center at an outward angle.
My 37 buick has a frame at tie rods that is 20" inside and 26" outside.
I would have to shift the r&p off-center approx 3 inches towards driver side for the input to be on outside of the frame.
I would be making a bracket that bridges the end take off connections and makes a center take off. Could adjust the position of the tie rod connections on that bracket for equal length tie rods.
1) Does anyone see a problem with this approach?
Thanks
Mutt

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.